Blood

Even in his sleep, Shi Mu maintained a considerable level of alertness.

He would only enter a very light sleep, and the slightest movement would wake him.

This was a survival skill he had learned as a lone wanderer.

“Because their vocal cords would have been melted the moment they took their first breath. They couldn’t make a sound. The potion I make is much stronger than the normal version,” Liu Weimin explained patiently.

“Ah, then if we accidentally get poisoned, wouldn’t we just have to wait for death like this, unable to even call for help?”
Tang Yunxuan felt a sudden fear upon thinking of this problem.

“We’re in two separate rooms, one with me and one with Ren Anhua. What are you worried about? Besides, I control the dosage very well. Barring any accidents, it won’t affect our indoor environment,” Liu Weimin was quite dedicated to his work, patiently explaining the situation to these laymen.

He didn’t want them to think he had any technical flaws.

Of course, the problem of the deaths being too disgusting couldn’t be solved, as that was simply the effect of this poison.

However, the problem to be solved at this gathering was not how sticky the corpses were, but the bite marks left on them.

Bite marks, that was the key point.

What would bite such a corpse?

There was only one answer: zombies.

Only these non-picky eaters could stomach such a thing, and they wouldn’t be affected by the poison gas.

Any normal creature would not choose to eat this kind of meat.

Only zombies, as long as it was fresh flesh and blood, they would not refuse.

So another problem presented itself to them: where did the zombies go?

The door wasn’t opened, the wall wasn’t breached.

Mindless creatures like zombies wouldn’t hide.

Where could they have gone?

Or rather, how did they get in?

“I think we should leave here quickly. There’s only one situation that can explain this phenomenon.”

Chen Shu had encountered such a thing before, and it had left a considerable shadow on him.

Rotten beasts, animal-type zombies.

This species, derived from the failed evolution of animals, had a pathological obsession and desire for fresh flesh and blood, just like zombies, and held an irrational malice toward all living things.

Most importantly, they were as disgusting as zombies, and compared to the highly evolved humanoid bodies of modern society, they appeared more adept at combat and slaughter, and possessed extremely high mobility.

Hunting was ingrained in the instincts of these animals.

Unlike zombies, no matter the level, rotten beasts knew how to lie in wait, whereas zombies usually only began to show this ability at level three.

In rural areas where the probability of level-three zombies was extremely low, this was the only explanation for not being able to see the culprit in the small courtyard.

A rotten beast of the same level often had a combat power one level higher than a zombie.

And it was highly likely that they were holed up in some corner, waiting for a surprise attack.

Being targeted by a thief was the most uncomfortable feeling.

Even if the other party couldn’t cause substantial harm, the team members didn’t want to have a close encounter with that kind of rotten thing.

Chen Shu’s idea was also very simple.

He couldn’t affect rotten beasts with his mental shock, so dealing with them would be very troublesome.

Since they were just passing through, everyone could just pretend nothing had happened.

However, Ren Anhua’s plan was clearly not so.

“No need to leave. I think it’s about to come out soon. After all, there are so many of us now,” Ren Anhua drew her watermelon knife.

Her real purpose still hadn’t changed—ability testing.

And the gathered members were, in fact, the bait Ren Anhua had laid out.

As long as they were below level three, neither rotten beasts nor zombies had the ability to distinguish between the strength of friends and foes.

As long as the attraction was strong enough, they would rush over.

Corrupted creatures below level three were mindless, providing a perfect target for Ren Anhua.

Even a first-tier rotten beast could give Ren Anhua a bit of a feel for it.

Unlike the biomass bomb, her other idea required a target to see its effect.

Ren Anhua drove the three hollow steel nails from her bracelet into her wrist.

Blood flowed down the hilt and onto the long blade.

Under the birth of her ability, apart from a little pain, the bleeding had no effect on her combat power.

Compared to solid cellular tissue, the feeling of establishing an ability link with blood was somewhat strange, as if she had an extra organ that could extend and change.

Blood slid down the blade, covering the sharp edge.

It dripped onto the ground, seeming like an ordinary and harmless red liquid.

But Ren Anhua knew that with just a thought, these crimson liquids would become terrifying bombs.

Derivative Skill—Dripping Blood.

A faint, rapid sound of footsteps came from the right, and a black shadow charged toward Ren Anhua.

The rotten beast could finally no longer resist such bait.

With so many people, so much fresh blood, it could no longer suppress its nature.

Ren Anhua’s healing detection was ineffective against zombies, but her years of combat experience made her fighting style very seasoned.

Always paying attention to her surroundings, she was the first to spot the black shadow.

With a back jump and a horizontal slash, the sound of cutting flesh was clear and smooth.

The two figures crossed paths.

This time, everyone could see clearly that it was a canine-type rotten beast.

It was large, with an exceptionally sturdy build, like a small calf.

According to Ren Anhua’s judgment, this should be a second-tier rotten beast.

It seemed she had hit the jackpot.

At this moment, it looked a bit wretched.

A wound stretched almost from head to tail along its side, stained with a shocking streak of bright red blood.

Rotten beasts naturally did not have such blood.

That was Ren Anhua’s blood from the blade, but for this rotten beast dog, it would only be worse.

With that last strike, she could have actually cut this rotten beast in half horizontally, but she didn’t.

Ren Anhua wanted to use this opportunity to simulate a combat situation against an evenly matched opponent.

Of course, this couldn’t completely simulate a real combat situation; after all, a fourth-tier against a second-tier, the gap was still too large.

At most, it was a small reference.

The zombie dog had no brain at all.

A missed attack would only lead to a brainless second charge.

For them, lying in wait was already an act of great wisdom.

Once the fight began, the mindless nature of this creature was exposed.

Just like a silly ADC who rushes to their death and can’t be stopped.

For the agile Ren Anhua, this kind of random pouncing was ineffective.

With a slight shift of her body, the rotten beast dog seemed to actively run into her blade, adding wound after wound to its body.

“That should be about enough,” Ren Anhua estimated the extent of the blood’s penetration and felt the time was right.

She actually didn’t need to cut so many times or drag it out for so long.

She was just waiting for the blood to soak into the enemy’s muscle tissue.

The deeper the explosion, the better the effect.

Ren Anhua saw her chance, turned, and kicked the beast up and to the side.

This kick held nothing back, aimed at kicking it as high as possible.

After all, what came next might be a very widespread flesh and blood explosion.

Have you ever seen fireworks?

Derivative Skill—Dripping Blood—Explosion.

Ren Anhua found that she still hadn’t kicked it far enough.

This thing was practically raining down.

So she found a point for improvement.

When using this move, it was best to prepare an umbrella first.